The MicroCube Interconnection Hardware described in this application comprise three combinations of a MicroCube Precision Fitting and various enhancements that are employed in precision pneumatic and hydraulic control systems. The MicroCube is a miniature precision connection device for welding together fittings, tubes, conduits, and manifolds. The MicroCube Precision Fitting is depicted, described, and claimed in a U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/193,262 by the same inventors which was filed on May 11, 1988. The specification and drawings of that prior application are hereby incorporated by reference.
A multitude of industrial processes require precise handling of gases and liquids. Streams of these fluids must be transported through supply lines, introduced into various enclosures or components, and finally expelled. Many fabrication techniques involve pressure control, the regulation of supply gases, and the measurement of temperature, pressure, and flow-rates. The devices that are currently available for these tasks are generally heavy bulky components that occupy a great deal of volume and planar space. The large size of conventional devices is an exceptionally serious concern among engineers and manufacturing system designers in the semiconductor industry. The production of integrated circuits requires highly precise control, regulation, and measurement of gases which are conducted in and out of vapor deposition chambers that are employed to fabricate semiconductors. Integrated circuits are generally manufactured within these chambers by growing semiconductor, insulator, or conductor materials layer by layer on thin circular substrates called wafers. This delicate process must be carried out in extremely clean environments. Tiny particles of dust can contaminate the fabrication materials and ruin very expensive integrated circuits. The "clean-rooms" that are utilized for manufacturing the semiconductor chips are enormously costly to build and operate. For this reason, equipment that is used within the clean-room must occupy as small a space as is reasonably possible. Any reduction in volume and planar space that can be achieved by the designers of pneumatic control devices produces direct and substantial savings for the integrated circuit manufacturer.
These potential cost savings provide great incentives for the chip industry to find new an more efficient ways to perform tasks within the clean-room environment. Since the quality of the finished circuit depends largely on the producer's ability to precisely control, regulate, and measure many different gases that are associated with the fabrication chamber, pneumatic and hydraulic control, regulation, and measurement tools each play a critical role in this process. Miniaturized interconnection hardware devices that are capable of controlling, regulating, and measuring high pressure flows of gas would fulfill a long felt need in the semiconductor industry. Such novel devices would occupy less of the precious space inside the clean-room, but would not compromise the high levels of performance and reliability that are presently achieved using much larger and bulkier implements.